A federal immigration officer fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday
US President Donald Trump has been criticised over his comments following the fatal shooting of anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti.
The 37-year-old was fatally shot by a federal immigration officer on Saturday (January 24) in Minneapolis, just weeks after mom-of-three Renee Good was fatally shot in her car in similar circumstances.
After Pretti’s death, officials, family members, and eyewitnesses have made conflicting claims about the incident.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that federal immigration agents fired shots in a move of self-defence, alleging that Pretti was holding a handgun at the time, however, this contradicts some other accounts, with witnesses and family members claiming Pretti was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti had “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun,” but did not confirm whether he had fired it.
Meanwhile, US Border Patrol official Greg Bovino added: “The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a border patrol agent fired defensive shots.
“This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Videos from the scene, which have been verified and reviewed by The New York Times, heavily contradict this statement, as Pretti can allegedly be seen holding his phone in his hand rather than a gun.
They also appear to show an agent deploying pepper spray at Mr Pretti and other protesters, and while he attempts to block the spray from other protesters, several agents wrestle Mr Pretti to the ground and begin striking him on both the head and body.
As he is reportedly seen being held on the ground, an agent draws his weapon and fires multiple shots.
Mr Pretti’s parents have accused the administration of spreading ‘sickening lies’, adding a plea: “Please get the truth out about our son.”
Following the public outrage over the incident, people on social media have criticised Trump, who shared a post about the incident on his Truth Social.
Posting a photo of a handgun, he wrote: “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?
“It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!”
He went on to add: “Why does Ilhan Omar have 34 Million Dollars in her account? And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota?
“We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy.
“We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW. Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong!
“This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud.
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the people of Minnesota and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!
“12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!”
People were quick to criticise Trump for his post, with one deeming him as ‘evil’, while another said: “President Trump just posted this and it includes an allegation that the Governor of Minnesota and Mayor of Minneapolis are inciting an insurrection.”
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